This electric valve idea has been around a long time now, hasn't it been decided that the energy needed to actuate the valves electrically is more than a cam and drive uses. AND the cam gives back a certain amount of energy as the springs return, you will find these cam-less engines run huge alternators. If this is such a good idea, why aren't they in use everywhere now? Just another gimmick.
There was an old guy here in ChCh who i've mentioned before in conjunction with his time in the experimental engine div of Chevy....When it first became known that they were using pneumatics in F1, he asked his old mate Brian Hart ( a friend from Cooper F1 days)how it worked. He then started developing what he called the next logical step.
Hydraulic actuation - and return - of the valves. He told me they'd talked about it at Chevy but not done anything.
He reckoned that a microprocessor could vary the valve timing as required - and was confident the actual hydraulic side of it was do-able.
He had built a mockup of the pump and valvetrain - which he said worked - at the time he got sick and lost his premises.
No idea what happened to any of it.
F1 has been using radial four-valve (they call it compound) heads with finger followers between the conventional parallel cams and the valve stems for the past ten years or so. There are no more buckets, just pneumatic spring bellows.
I love the way Christian von Koenigsegg talks about his freevalve engine. The man is passionate but he manages to stick to facts, avoiding any commercial bullshit.
If I wanted to keep myself occupied with four-strokes, I would definitely book a flight to Sweden.
Yeah the advantage i see is infinitely variable timing and square profiles. plus dropping cylinders and firing orders at will.
the regenitive aspect is cool too
I remember the half a ducati supercharge concept bike.
Maybe in the future we could hear again ultra high speed Detroit diesels singing.
Off the foundry Supplies again, this is getting expensive.
Strokers Galore!
No such luck, Waikato does milk not casting
You're probably right, I worked in the Waikato for a couple of years!
They were quite keen on motorcycle sport and maybe even a touch of rugby union! (or was it the other way round?) But the "Cockies" took to bikes like ducks to water! and later on many of their farmbikes became Bucket Racers!
I remember being a little pissed off when I found that hardly anybody had even heard of Hugh Anderson who was a world motorcycle champion at that time (1966) and a Waikato guy!
Strokers Galore!
I had hoped to drag out my furnace today and do a trial melt after modifying my burner slightly, but the wind these last two days has been pretty fierce and being in close proximity to my neighbours thought it might be best to forget it for now - better safe than sorry, I guess!
So I'll get all the gear (boxes, tongs crucibles etc. all stowed away for over a year) ready for the off and hope for better conditios towards the end of the week.
Getting on well with the neighbours at present and I want it to stay that way!
I think that I'll just use greensand and make a few ingots first though till I brush up on my mould design, patternmaking and moulding skills, hoping eventually to use silicate sand - a practice session using silicate sand would be more expensive and would create a mountain of non reusable sand. I've not got enough space here for that. My educated guess says that a melt (using LPG) costs around $16 - $18, that's not bad, I can wear that, plus it's a clean way to do it in my (cramped) circumstances.
A sand mountain also might interfere with our "Latee' sipping" sessions when we sit around discussing art etc., (as we all do up here ) and I don't want to appear rough and uncultured, even though I may be - that's why I never open my garage door when anybody's around (except to the privileged few of course)
UPDATE
It's the next day and would you believe it - it's raining! so no furnace today, then tomorrow and the next day I won't have time to do it!
Meanwhile in Aus, Ken & co are trying to dodge 40deg temperatures and I've had to put my singlet back on and even consider going back to longs!
Strokers Galore!
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